Strand handling apparatus



'July 12, 1938. R. PASH v STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS s sheets-sheet '1 Filed Nov. 14, 19.35

FIG. I.

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STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS R. PAsH Filed Nov. 14,- 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY July 12, 1938. R. PAsH v STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Fil ed rim. 14, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR R PASH I 4r7'owsr Patented July 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STRAND HANDLING APPARATUS Robert Pash, Roselle, N, J., assignor to'western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York,

N.-Y., a corporation of New York Application November 14, 1935, Serial No. 49,696

4 Claims.

This invention relates to strand handling apparatus and more particularly to a device for controlling the operation of strand winding appa-- To this end, in one embodiment of the inven-,

tion, there is contemplated a device applicable to toroidal core winding machines having a ring like shuttle, which device comprises brake means for the shuttle operated by electricalmeans in the main power circuit of the machine, together with an electrical control circuit having the shuttle and the strand being wound and the brake in circuit therein and arranged to open a branch of the main power circuit when the control circuit is interrupted, whereby the brake means will be actuated to stop the shuttle.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numerals are applied to identical parts in the several figures and in which- Flg. i is a partly diagrammatic view in left side elevation of a toroidal coil winding machine constructed in. accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken view in side elevation of one detail thereof detail with parts omitted;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken view in side elevation to show the shuttle brake actuating linkage;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken view in front eleiii vation of the shuttle, guide ring and guide ring drive, and I c Fig. 6 is an enlarged detached perspective view of the linkage which controls the normally'operating brake of the machine.

The device embodying the invention as herein disclosed is shown as applied to a toroidal coil winding machine whose general structure and mode of operation, except as hereinafter described in detail, are not pertinent to the present invention, and reference is made to U. S. Patent No.

big. 3 is a rear elevational view of the same 802,359 issued on October 17,-1905to C. F. Nickel and to U. S. Patent 1,827,186 issued on October 13, 1931 to S. E. Borgeson for a general description of the organization and operation of such machines. For present purposes the machine comprises a base 20' on which is mounted a toroidal core or coil holding device generally indicated at 2! which serves to hold a core or partly wound coil 22 in position while being wound. A shuttle ring 24 and guide ring 25 are rotatably mounted in the machine passing through the center of the toroidal core, the one to carry a supply of double strand to be wound on'the core, the other to guide the strand from-the shuttle and lay it on the core.

When the shuttle is to be filled, a supply reel may be placed in the position indicated at 26 in dotted lines and the strands may be brought as shown at 21, also in dotted lines, to the shuttle Wherethe bare ends of the strands are hooked over a pin 28 mounted in the shuttle. The shuttle is then driven in reverse rotation to wind strand therein until .filled. When full, the strands are cut, threaded over the guide pin 29, and wrapped once or twice about the core. The bare ends are brought downand fastened in the clips 30 and 3 I.

The machine is then set in motion to drive the guide pin 29 in clockwise rotation (Fig. 1) to wind the strand about the core. The guide ring 25 with the pin. 29 mounted therein and having gear teeth inside is supported on rollers 32, 32,

and is driven from a gear 33 mounted on a shaft it and is driven through a belt it from an 30 till.

electric motor schematically indicated at A combination brake and clutch member 36 is keyed to the shaft to rotate therewith and be slidable thereon and is adapted at its left end (Fig. 5) to frictionally clutch the pulley it to be driven thereby and so to drive the shaft 3 3 and thereby the ring iii. The right end of the member 36 is adapted to coact with a brake member 3'?! stationary on a suitable part of the machine frame. the member 36 to the left to disengage it from the brake member ill and engage it with the pulley 35. The member 36 is shiftable by means of a U-shaped stirrup 39 held in a yoke it rigidly mounted on a shaft 4 i.

A lever arm 42 is rigidly secured to the shaft 4| and is moved by a cam lug 43 pivotably supported on a shaft 64 and having an integral actuating, arm 45. A tension spring 46 hooked at one. end into the arm 45 and at the other end into a A compression spring 33 tends to drive i from the link 41.

convenient part of the machine frame tends to force the meinber 88 to the right (Fig. and thus to disengage the member 28 from the drive pulley 85 and to engage it with the brake member 81 thus stopping the guide ring 25. The several parts are so proportioned that the spring 48 will overpower the spring 88 unless restrained.

When the machine is to operate, a link 41,

pivotably secured to the arm 45 by a long pin or short rod 18 is hooked over a stud 48, holding the arm 45 up against the spring 48 and allowing the spring 88 to engage the member 88 with the driving pulley 35.

The stud 48 is the outer end of a cylindrical member 49 slidably and rotatably housed in a hollow member 58 rotatably supported in the machine frame. A compression spring 5| presses the member 49 outwardly to the right (Fig. 2) into position to support the link 41. 52 is connected to the member 49 at one end and extends through an aperture in the closure member 89 at the left end of the member 58. The left end of the pull rod is forked to receive an upstanding lever arm 54 and has a cross bar 55 mounted in the fork whereby the lever arm may draw the pull rod and therewith the member 49 to the left to withdraw the stud 48 from the link 41.

The lever arm 54 is rigidly mounted on a shaft 58 journalled in the machine frame and provided with a coaxial torsion spring 51 which tends to rotate the shaft and therewith the arm 54 counterclockwise (Fig. 2) to withdraw the stud 48 Another lever arm 58 is also rigidly secured on the shaft 58 and is connected at its outer end by a link 59 to the core 68 of a solenoid 8|. Thus so long as the solenoid 8| is energized the spring 5| is free to keep the stud 48 out to support the link 41, but when the solenoid is de-energized the spring 51 is powerful enough to retract the stud from the link and so stop the guide ring.

The shuttle ring 24 is mounted on three rollers 82 and is freely rotatable on the rollers. In operation the shuttle ring is driven only by the pull of strands being withdrawn from it by the guide pin 29. To provide suitable tension on the strand and also braking means for the shuttle ring, a metallic brake shoe 88 rests against the inner periphery of the ring and is slidable radially of the ring in a guide 84 supported by the machine frame. The brake shoe 83 is secured to one end of a slide bar 85 also guided in the guide 84. The other end of the bar is forked and is slidable in a groove in a fixed stud 88 on the machine frame. Thus the bar 85 and with it the brake shoe 88 are'limitedly slidable radially of the ring 24.

A tension spring 81 is hooked at one end over a stud 88 set into the bar 85, and at the other end is attached to one end of a lever 89 pivotally secured at 18 on the machine frame. The other end of the lever 89 is abutted against an adjustment screw 1| also mounted in the frame. Thus the shoe 83 is normally held against the ring 24 by the pull of the spring 81 which is adjustable by the screw 1|.

The bar 85 is also provided with a laterally extending fixed stud 12 adapted to be pressed down by one arm of an offset bell crank lever 13 pivotably mounted on the machine frame. A tension spring 14 attached to the same arm of the lever and also to the machine frame tends to draw that arm down and therewith the stud 12 and the bar 88 to increase the pressure of the shoe 88 on the ring 24. The other arm of the bell crank 12 A pull rod is connected by a link 19 to one arm of another offset bell crank lever pivoted at 18 on the machine frame. The other arm 11 of the lever has pivotably connected to its outer end the long pin or shaft 18 by which the link 41 is attached to the lever arm 45. g

The motor |8| which drives the machine through the belt 23 is fed with current from an outside source I82 through terminals 88 and 8| and a reversing switch generally indicated at 82 from which leads run to the terminals or binding posts 88, 84 of the motor. When the switch is in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the motor runs ahead to drive the machine to wind strand on a core. When the switch is in the full line position, the motor runs in the reverse direction and can be coupled to the shuttle ring by means not here described to run it backwards for filling. The main power circuit from 88, 8| is also connected through the switch to the terminals 85, 88 of the solenoid 8|, directly when the switch is in the full line position and through the contacts of a magnetic circuit breaker 81 when the switch is in the dotted or left hand position. The power supplied to this circuit may be of the customary relatively high tension, e. g. 220 volt A. C.

A source Hill of relatively low tension electrical current, e. g. 24 volt D. C., is connected to terminals 88, 89. The terminal 88 is connected through the winding of the circuit breaker 81 and thence in series through the armatures 98 and 99 of two relays to the terminal 89. The terminal 89 is also connected in parallel to one end each of the windings 9| and 92 of the relays whose armatures are respectively 98 and 99. The other ends of the windings 9| and 92 are connected respectively to the clips 88 and 2|. The stud 88 or other convenient point of the bar 85 is connected both to ground on the machine and to the terminal 88.

The use of two distinct sources of electric current, I88 and |82, is dictated by considerations of. safety and not by the construction or operation of the machine. In ordinary practice the current supplied by such a source as illustrated at I82 would be at one of the customary commercial potentials, e. g. 110, 220 or 440 volts. It is not impracticable but merely may be objectionable as a matter of safety to use power of such voltage in the circuit through the strands 93 and 94. It is preferable for both simplicity and safety to use high voltage A. C. at 88, 8| and low voltage D. C. at 88, 89 as described. However by connecting, say, 88 to 88 and 89 to 8| instead of to I88, 'and with A. C. relays at 81, 9| and 92 instead of D. C. devices, the machine also will function precisely as described herein. v

In describing the operation of the automatic stop and brake which embodies the invention, it is assumed that the shuttle ring 24 is filled with two strands 99 and 94 of enamelled or otherwise insulated wire which are being withdrawn from the shuttle and laid on the core, side by side, by

the guide pin 29. The bare outer ends of these two wires are connected to the clips 38 and 3| respectively, and the bare inner ends are connected to the metal pin 28 in the metal shuttle 24. There is then a pair of parallel continuous electrical paths from the-terminal 89 through the windings 9| and 92, clips 38 and 3| and strands 98 and 94 to the shuttle 24. Thence a single continuous path leads via the metal brake shoe 88, and bar 85 to the terminal 88. In shunt across the above is a circuit from terminal 88 through the winding of the circuit breaker 81 and the engagement with the brake member 31.

relay armatures 99 and 99 to the terminal 99. This shunt circuit remains closed energizing the circuit breaker 91 and holding it closed, so long and only so long as both windings 9| and 92 are energized and keep the armatures 99 and 99 in circuit closing position. If either strand 93 or 94 breaks, the corresponding winding, 9| or 92 is de-energized and the corresponding'armature 99 or 99 opens the circuit through the winding of the circuitbreaker 81. The circuit breaker opens and cuts off current from the solenoid 6i.

When the solenoid BI is thus ie-energized, the spring 51 turns the arm 54 counterclockwise (Figs. 1 and 2) to retract the stud '49 from the link 41. The link 41 is thus released and allows the bell crank ll, 15 to drop, .and the spring 14 pulls the bell crank 13 down thus pulling the brake shoe 63'against the free running shuttle 24 to bring it to a halt. At the same time, the spring 46 has thrown the clutch member 99 out of engagement with the drive pulley 95 and into The relatively light shuttle and guide are disconnected from the relatively massive driving elements and can be braked ,to a stop in much less time than the latter.

Theembodiment of the invention herein dis closed is illustrative only and may be modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as pointed out in and limited only by the appended claims. What is claimed is:

1. In a toroidal coil winding machine, a driven noid, means in the shuttle to connect the inner end of a conductive insulated strand wound thereon electrically to the shuttle, means to connect the brake member electrically to one end of the winding of the said relay and to one side of a source of current, means to connect the other end of the said winding to the armature of a second relay, means to connect the second relay armature to the other side of the source and to one end of the winding of the second relay, means to connect the other end of the second re- I lay winding to the outer end or the strand wound on the shuttle, and a combination clutch and brake actuable by the-solenoid when deenergized to disconnect the guide member from the motor and to stop the guide, all whereby when a break V occurs in the strand on the shuttle the guide member will be disconnected from the motor and stopped, and the shuttle will be stopped.

2. In a strand handling apparatus. brake means for the apparatus generally and normally operative, free running strand supply means driven only by withdrawal of strand therefrom and not affected by said brake means, independent brake means for the supply means and normally operative, common means to maintain both brake means inoperative including a solenoid connected in a power supply circuit of the apparatus,

and means to render the said common means ineifective including a circuit breaker having its contacts in the power supply circuit and having its winding connected through a-strand on the strand supply means with a source of current, the several parts being so constructed and arranged that opening the power supply circuit will deenergize the solenoid and therebycause the two brake means to operate and that breakage of the strand will actuate the circuit breaker to deenergize the solenoid.

3.1n. a strand handling apparatus, brake means for the apparatus generally and normally operative, free running strand supply means driven' only by withdrawal, of strand therefrom and not aflected by said brake means, independent brake means for the supply means and normally operative, common means to maintain both brake means inoperative including a solenoid connected in a power supply circuit of the apparatus, means to deenergize the solenoid and thereby to render the said common means ineffective and the said two brake means operative comprising a circuit breaker having its contacts in the power supply circuit, and a relay having its armature connected in series with the winding of the circuit breaker and a source of current and its winding connected in series with a strand on the. strand supply means to the source of current, the several parts being so constructed and arranged that opening the power supply circuit will deenergize the solenoid and thereby cause the two brake means to operate and that breakage of the strand will actuate the circuit breaker to deenergize the solenoid.

4. In a strand handling apparatus, brake means for the apparatus generally and normally operative, free running strand supply means driven only by withdrawal of strand therefrom and not aflected by said brake means and having a plurality of parallel strands thereon, independent brake means for the supply means and normally operative, common means to maintain both brake means inoperative, and means to deenergize the solenoid and thereby to render the said common means ineffective and the said two brake means operative comprising acircuitbreaker having its contacts in a power supply circuit of the apparatus, and a plurality of relays having their several armatures connected in series with each other and with the winding of the circuit breaker and with a source of current, the winding of each relay being connected in series with one of the parallel strands on the strand supply means to the source of current, the several parts being so constructed and arranged that opening the power supply circuit will deenergize the solenoid and thereby cause the-two brake means to operate and that breakage of any one of the parallel strands will actuate the circuit breaker to demergize the solenoid. 4

ROBERT PASH. 

